From the World of Darkness
by Jirel
Summary: Wild Adapter - what happens when two men both claim to be the receivers of Kubota's delivery? Consequences.
1. Chapter 1

"From the world of darkness I did loose demons and devils in the power or scorpions to torment." _Charles Manson_

Kazuya Minekura owns Kubota, Tokito and all other characters, I've just taken them out of the box to play with them for a while.

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Kubota blinked but everything remained black. What? He tossed his mind back over recent affairs. There'd been trouble with the delivery. Two men had shown up, each claiming to be the person that should receive the delivery. A fight had broken out but just as he'd noticed something off, both men had turned on him. He'd taken out the two men when a noise behind him made him turn and fire. Just as he did that he'd seen the flash of an old board and then .. He lifted his hand up to the side of his head. Wet and sticky, so he must have passed out from being hit. He could still hear the occasional car on the street so he hadn't been taken anywhere. Maybe he was in a box of some kind? He waved his hand in front of his face. Oh. Now what?

Slowly he totaled the hurts in the body. Head, yeah well he knew what that was from. Seemed like there was a problem with the right shoulder too, that felt like – yeah, more blood on his fingers. Guess there was a bullet wound there. His hip hurt some but it was just a dull pain, probably from falling. He needed to do something before the police showed up. He thought carefully, yeah, there was a T-junction just a few feet ahead. If he crossed over the the other side of the alley he should be able to get down to where the T was joined and get into another alleyway, away from the dead bodies. He heard a moan, well maybe not "dead" bodies. At least not all of them. He shrugged that away. What mattered right now was getting away from the scene. He could hear cars at his back, so – Kubota moved toward the other side of the alley.

He made it to the wall on the other side of the alleyway, but not until he kicked and stumbled over more than one part of the bodies scattered around him. Somehow he managed not to fall. He almost ran into the wall because he didn't want anyone to see him walking around with his hands in front of him. He had no idea where his glasses were, but he had a spare pair at home. He assured himself he'd need them. Okay, found the alley wall, now turn left and walk with one hand on the wall and be happy this alley was clean. Ah, the corner of the wall, he must be at the junction, he turned right again, took 5 steps and fell. This alley wasn't as clean as the other one. Maybe it was just as well he couldn't see what was turning the front of his shirt all wet and sticky? Shuffling and then stepping carefully over or on things his feet found in front of him worked better than walking, and if one hand was on the wall, well maybe the other should be stretched it in front. Keeping the right hand on the wall was definitely better, he probably shouldn't do much to make that shoulder bleed any more.

Walking slowly and carefully meant that he did not walk into the dumpster but instead barked the fingers of his left hand on it. He felt carefully around and then lifted the lid with his left hand. It'd be a lot easier if he could see to find something to step on. Finally he managed to jump up and get part of his body on the dumpster edge, but he had to let go of the lid to do it. Somehow it hit part of his head when it came down and he thought his head was going to explode. Luckily he had already started the lunge to get in the dumpster. He just lay there for a few minutes feeling like his head was spinning. Funny, the little white spots in the darkness didn't spin. They just sat there.

After a few minutes of rest, he pulled himself up to lean against the metal wall of the dumpster. Guess he was going to have to call Tokito. He slowly and carefully worked his phone out of his right pocket with his left hand, last thing he needed right now was to drop it. He flipped it open and dialed his number. The phone rang several times before being picked up. "Ah, Kubo-chan! Why did you have to call just then? I almost had that boss defeated, just a few more blows and – um, Kubo-chan, you okay?"

"Hai, hai." he paused for a moment, finding this call surprisingly hard to make. " I need you to take the train to E station. Walk 4 blocks north on Sakurabana. There's an alleyway on the right hand side of the street, if there are police around or people in the alley go away until they are gone. When there's no one around walk down the alley to the first alley intersection and turn into it. Call my name."

"E station, north on Sakurabana, alley. Got it Kubo-chan. I'll leave right now. Bye."

The phone clicked and Kubota sighed. It was amazing how the spitting sometimes spinning, agitated cat could occaisionally calm down and sound so reliable when he was needed. The corners of Kubota's mouth twitched. "Wonder if he'll have to call for directions? "

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Okay, I need comments on my writing. You want more of this story, give me advice on how to improve my writing. I know, the characters may be a little OC, but I'm trying to be better with that. Tell me what's wrong and what's right and I'll post the next bit.


	2. Chapter 2 Came to Confusion

**Sanada – thanks for the review. **

One review = 1 chapter. I have another story I'm working on in addition to this one but I will only post it if I hear more from people. As stated in my profile, stories do NOT get posted on here unless I have it all pre-planned so that they will never be dropped in mid story.

**Chapter 2 – The Jaws of Darkness alt title – Came to Confusion**

_And ere a man hath power to say 'Behold!' The jaws of darkness do devour it up: So quick bright things come to confusion. Shakespeare_

Kubota shifted uneasily. He knew he probably still had close to an hour before Tokito showed up but he couldn't relax. He wasn't near enough to the alley to be able the hear if the ones left alive had moved or if they were all still there. He was angry that he had dropped both the package and his gun back there and hadn't been able to look for them. "Be honest," he told himself. "you were afraid to look for them. Afraid that someone would wake up while you were crawling around on your hands and knees trying to find them in a darkness that only applied to you."

Anger at his inability to act, at his fear, made him suddenly lash out with his fist and hit the side of the waste container with a loud thud. Instantly he froze, feeling his blood turn to ice. If someone heard him – He listened closely for several minutes but didn't hear anyone talking or moving near the dumpster. He had to get a hold of himself. He wasn't helpless. It wasn't like he had to depend on anyone else. He was Kubota Makota, he could care for himself, run his own life, buy his own clothes and pay his own bills. He didn't need anyone's help, never had. Even as a child he had stood alone and he still could. "Yeah," said a small voice in his head. "That's why you had to call Tokito to come help you out." He gritted his teeth against the need to lash out again. To throw his head back and scream.

Ten minutes later, trembling and drenched in sweat, Kubota decided to start practicing breathing. Maybe if he concentrated on how to breath he could quit thinking about things he didn't want to. "Breathe in through the nose. 1..2..3..Breathe out through the mouth. 1..2..3..Breathe in through the nose. 1..2..3.." He had to try over and over again but finally he had himself relaxed and breathing in the right pace, and just a few breaths later he surprised himself by falling asleep.

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Dammit! Why did Kubo-chan have to call just then? He was on a good streak, he was going to win that time! Tokito paused for a moment to scratch his elbow and give an old man who had moved too close a wild eyed glare until he moved back the few inches required to make Tokito happy. And why did he have to sound.... weird! He hadn't sounded breathless, he hadn't sounded weak, he hadn't sounded like his lips were punched out of shape, he just sounded – not right. Almost, well almost tentative. Suddenly the bell rung and Tokito noticed they were coming up on E station. Thank god he could finally get off this crowded train.

It only took him 5 minutes of walking to find the alley. He looked around but couldn't see anyone hanging around or paying any attention. He stepped into the alley but had only walked a few feet when he noticed the blood. So, this must be where whatever had happened. He looked down, there was more blood and a few pieces of paper. He was shuffling halfheartedly at the papers just to see if there was anything else around when he caught a gleam underneath a trash can. Surprised he bent to look and then reached under and pulled out a gun. He darted another quick look around to see if anyone was watching then examined the weapon. He stopped when he saw the jagged scratch on the handle. This was **Kubota's** gun. He was the one that had scratched that handle with the claws on his left hand one time trying to see if they got in the way of holding the gun. Suddenly chilled he shoved the weapon under his waistband beneath his t shirt.

"Relax", he told himself. "No need to worry, that dammed ex-Yakuzi is too tough to be hurt bad. Besides, he called didn't he?" Tokito quit looking around and headed for the adjoining alley. He walked into the smaller, dirtier alley and looked around frantically. There was nobody there, there was trash and decaying food around but not enough to hide a body. "Kubota?" He didn't want to call too loudly. He waited but didn't get a reply. "Kubota!" Still no reply. Tokito tried to think what to do. He didn't want to yell, that didn't seem a good idea, so what could he do? On impulse he reached into his pocket and brought out his cell phone and dialed Kubota's number. The sudden ringing from the large common garbage container just a few feet away made him jump. He immediately flipped the phone closed and dashed to the container, dragging over a couple of pieces of wood to stand on. Just as he pushed the lid up, craning his head to see inside, he heard movement. A familiar face stared up at him. He was startled to see how tense Kubota's body was.

"There you are! What did you do, fall asleep you idiot pervert?" Kubota's body suddenly relaxed. "You've got blood all over you. Were you hit on the head? There's blood on your face. Well come on, don't just sit there. You need to get out." He couldn't understand, why hadn't Kubo-chan used the time while he was talking to stand up. Was he hurt more than he thought?

"Oh." The words were very soft. "Its you."

"Who else did you expect it to be? You did call me, and I'm standing right here. Are you **blind** stupid Kubo-chan?"

There was a slight hesitation, then "Well, actually, it seems I am."

Tokito gripped the side of the container so as not to fall over as he just stared at Kubota. Wait? What? He was kidding, right? He had to be kidding. People didn't just go blind – did they?

Kubota wished fiercely he could see the look on Tokito's face. But rather than continue to speculate on it or even think about why he couldn't, he gathered his feet under himself and managed to stand up. Then he grabbed the container's side with his left hand. It felt like he was high enough from all the junk in the container that he could get out fairly easily – not a bad thing as he didn't seem to have any strength in his right arm.

"Tokito, if you could hold up the lid from the left side over here near my head, I think I can just hop out." There was silence. Kubota took a deep breath "Tokito, if you move, you're going to have to tell me."

"Um, um. Just a moment Kubo-chan. Just a moment." Tokito shook himself out of his panicked trance.

Kubota heard the rustle of clothes and then Tokito's voice from near his head. "Okay, I'm out of your way now."

Kubota leaned forward and then picked up his right arm and hung it over the side of the container, on the outside. Then he swung his right leg over and kicked off with his left. Everything seemed to go fine. Out of habit he let go of the side of the container as he pushed off and therefore had nothing to hold onto when he came down and landed; not on the flat concrete he had expected, but instead on some of the wood Tokito had gathered to stand on. He had absolutely no way to prevent himself from pitching forwards.


	3. Chapter 3 In That Darkness

Chapter 3 – In that Darkness

Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again." Stephen King

"BAM!" The lid on the garbage container slammed shut and Kubota felt himself grabbed as he fell with a thump onto a familiar thin chest. Two sinewy arms flung themselves around him. "Sor- sorry, Kubo-chan! I'm sorry! I was standing on those pieces of wood and forgot to move them." Tokito buried his head in Kubota's left shoulder. But instead of the calming "Sha, sha – I'm fine." that he expected to hear; he found himself grasped tightly with Kubota's left arm as the man bent down and buried his own head on Tokito's shoulders and leaned into his body lightly shivering. Helpless to figure out what to do next, Tokito just stood there and held Kubota.

But a few seconds later Kubota had raised his head and loosened his grasp on Tokito. "I need you to check my right shoulder. Is there blood coming out the back of it? If so; than the bullet went all the way through."

Tokito looked around to Kubota's back. "No, I don't see any blood on the back of your shirt other than what dripped down from your head."

"Is any of it still bleeding?"

"Umm, no, not really."

"Okay, then the wounds are stable. We need to get to Kou's. Would you handle getting the tickets at the station?"

"Sure, but – um, I don't have enough on me to pay for both of us."

"Shouldn't be a problem, yeah I still have my wallet. Here, take the money." Kubota awkwardly pulled out his wallet and then shoved a bunch of bills at Tokito. "You take care of this for me. Also, I'm going to lean on you while we walk away, it should just look like I'm drunk or weak from lack of blood. I don't know who might be watching."

Suddenly panicked, Tokito froze. Wait a minute, this wasn't him pretending to take charge while Kubota watched over him; or him taking off on his own. **He** was the one leading the way now, for both of them. There was no back up. It frightened him down to his balls. Kubota had always been there; usually in the background, but always there to pull him out if he got in too deep.

"Tokito, is something wrong?" Kubota's body tensed and his head swiveled around as though he would still be able to tell what was going on.

"NO, no, Kubota. Everything's fine. I was just - just thinking about getting back to the train station is all."

"Don't worry, if you get lost I'm sure we'll find the way between us." Tokito looked quickly at Kubota's face, looking for the half-joking smile he was sure he would find there, but Kubota looked completely serious.

Kubota waited, but Tokito didn't start walking. He turned his head as though to see Tokito better. "What is it?"

"Kubo-chan, how – how did this happen. I mean, people don't just go blind. Do they?" The uncertain, questioning tone to Tokito's voice reminded Kubota of just how little Tokito could remember of his life and how much he didn't know about the world.

"I think it was when I was hit on the head. I'm hoping Kou knows more." After that, there was very little said between the two as they headed for the train station. Kubota soon learned (not at all to his surprise) that Tokito was terrible at warning him of curbs or potholes. He started walking just slightly behind him while still letting his left arm drape across Tokito's shoulder so that he would have the warning of feeling Tokito move downwards when crossing a curb. He kept his eyes on the ground, not wanting to give away his lack of sight to any interested party that might be watching him.

It was a long journey and Kubota found himself truly needing Tokito's shoulder before they reached Kou's store. As usual, no one appeared to notice the blood on Kubota. In this area of town it was always best to mind your own business and ignore anyone else's.

Once the jangling of chimes from the door had settled down Kubota heard the quiet murmur of voices. That and Tokito's hesitation told hm Kou had at least one visitor. "Backroom", Kubota said with his mouth almost touching Tokito's ear. Tokito jumped and then began moving forward. Kubota looked in the direction of the voices and bowed his head slightly before going back to looking as though he were concentrating on the floor. He hoped he looked 'normal'. That effort was spoiled when he bumped into the edge of a shelving unit just inside the door to the back. Tokito's wail of "I'm sorry Kubo-chan, I didn't realize..." probably didn't help either.

"Its okay Tokito." Kubota murmured as he took his arm off Tokito's shoulder and began feeling his way through the small passage and into the room. "It's too small to walk side by side here." He was feeling very, very tired. And wondered how much blood he had lost. He usually didn't get this tired this easily, even after being shot. Once inside the door to the backroom, he waited while Tokito helped him to the stool.

It was less than a minute until Kubota heard chimes again; and shortly thereafter came Kou's calm voice. "Kubota, this time I think you are going to have to tell me exactly what happened. Now I'm going to touch your head for a moment." Then long slender fingers reached out and wrapped themselves around his chin, moving his face this way and that.


	4. Chapter 4 If the Darkness Be Temporary

Chapter 4

"But if that darkness be only temporary, then how do you spend your time?"

Kou cleaned and put ointment on the side of Kubota's head as he related the relevant parts of the fight and then worked on his shoulder as he thought of what Kubota had said. Finally he was finished. "I have heard about this sort of thing before." He stated, rather heavily. "Very occasionally a blow to the head will land just right and shock the optic nerve. It's not that common. I've never actually encountered it before."

"So happy to have enlightened your experience, Kou." Kubota gave a very faint smile. It was hard to tell by Kou's voice if he had good or bad news. But surely if it had been bad, he would have continued on and said so.

"But when will Kubo-chan be able to see again!" Tokito had no patience for explanations, for side comments or anything else but the exact information he wanted.

"In most cases the blindness only lasts a few hours."

"Great, great!" Tokito had already jumped off his chair and was back to his usual prowling around the room while waiting for Kubota to get up.

"Usually?" Kubota asked, lifting one eyebrow slightly to invite the doctor to continue.

"Usually. Sometimes it takes days or weeks. Once in a great while, it is permanent."

There seemed to be a pause in the entire room, as though everything, even the air had quit moving for just a moment.

"Weeks?" squeaked Tokito. "Weeks! Stupid Kubo-chan. You just want to make **me** do all the housework and the cooking."

"Well, maybe not **all** the cooking." said Kubota in his usual soft, teasing voice.

Kou moved forward and laid one hand gently on Kubota's shoulder. Kubota tensed for a moment and slid off the stool and out from under his hand. "I'd better get to work advising Tokito on what to do. Despite everything, he still doesn't seem to have any idea how to keep an apartment neat."

"What!" Tokito sputtered, "Why should I put up a game controller when I'm going to use it again in 30 minutes?" The words had the ritualistic feel of an oft-repeated, friendly argument.

"Hai, hai. Lets go home, I'm sleepy."

"Stupid Kubo-chan, its not even dark out yet." Tokito moved to stand next to Kubota and reached for his uninjured arm. "Here, put your arm on my shoulder."

"Hai, hai."

Once they reached the apartment door, Kubota took his hands off Tokito's shoulder as he took off his shoes. Despite a few stubbed toes, he was able to make his way past the sofa and into the bedroom. Once there he carefully made his way over to the bed, lay down on his back and closed is eyes. Tokito watched him from the bedroom door, a worried look in his eyes. It really wasn't like Kubota to be this tired after a job. Even getting shot didn't usually upset him, maybe it was getting hit in the head? Well, it would be a short nap anyway, Kou had some potions he wanted Kubota to take later, with food. They were supposed to help ward off infections and counteract the bullet he'd had to leave in Kubota's shoulder.

"Kubo-chan." There was no answer. Tokito wasn't sure if he was really asleep or just faking it. "I'm going to go pick up something to eat at the store." Still no answer. He turned around and left. Kubota had vaguely heard Tokito through a growing haze of tiredness. Not bothering to truly sort out the sounds into meaningful words, Kubota slowly let himself drift into blackness.

Kubota woke with a start. Wait, he couldn't see anything, it was black – what. Oh, yeah. He relaxed the muscles that had tensed when he first woke up. The futon felt familiar and he could hear Tokito moving in the other room. He almost smiled at the bangs and bumps and muttered curses that were oh so normal when Tokito was doing anything. He sniffed, he also smelled food. For a moment his heart sank as he contemplated eating without sight but then as he usually did with something minor that stood in his way, he ignored it. He'd just pretend it wasn't a problem.

"Hey, Kubo-chan. Get up! I got congee for dinner." The apartment was small enough that Tokito didn't really have to yell in order for Kubota to hear him in the bedroom.

"Hai, hai. In a minute." Kubota made his way off the futon and carefully faced towards what he thought was the bathroom. Luckily he kept the bedroom floors clear and it wasn't all that big anyway. There were a few missteps but he found his way to the bathroom/laundry room well enough. Then he realized that there were some things he would have to do differently or chance having a smelly, dirty bathroom. He wrinkled his nose but then resigned himself for the time being to sitting on the toilet all the time.

Speaking of smell... yeah – he was still wearing the same shirt. Thankfully he had fallen asleep on his back and hadn't transferred any of .. whatever that was.. onto the sheets. He pulled the shirt off and dumped it in the vicinity of the dirty clothes. He'd worry about a clean one later. He was starting to feel very hungry. Kubota found the sink and faucets easily and washed his hands and face before starting towards the living/dining/kitchen area using the wall to guide himself. "Sofa or table, Tokito?" He asked as he stepped into the common area.

"Table, Kubo-chan. I've got the bowls out, do you want tea or beer?"

"Beer, please."

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If you like this please review! Like most writers, I'm fueled on feedback.


	5. Chapter 5 Care only about the darkness

PLEASE, please leave a review.

You'll care only about the darkness…" Mark Danielewski

Tokito sat in front of the TV listening to the news report. Well, not really listening. His eyes were on the TV but his mind was not focused on the program. He had turned it because Kubota used to pay attention to the news, and he was bored with his video game. Anymore, it seemed like there was very little Kubota wanted to listen to, or do. Tokito glanced at the figure at the end of the sofa. Kubo-chan sat there facing the TV with his eyes open – not that it made any difference, open or closed. It had been 6 days since Kubota called Tokito to come help him get home because he couldn't do it on his own; because he could no longer see.

Kou had mentioned reports of that sort of thing happening before and suggested it could only last a few hours to a couple of weeks. Tokito had relaxed, it was temporary, every thing would be soon be fine. But it wasn't fine yet. And now, Kubota no longer commented on the news. Even if Tokito asked him questions, the answers were short and to the point. He slept erratically and never joined Tokito in bed. There were no more half smiles. His eyes never gleamed or even looked interested. In the past couple of days Tokito could have sworn his eyes were looking more and more vacant. It scared Tokito.

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"Crack." The air of the Mahjong parlour was thick with smoke and the smell of old coffee. The sound of soft conversations drifted around each table occasionally punctuated by grunts when a particular tile was played. Suddenly the atmosphere at one of the tables was split with soft groans and complaints as the tension from the game broke up. "Damn you, Kashai. I'm going to quit playing with you, you win too often!"

The grizzled man gave wry chuckle. "Good thing we're friends Yosi, otherwise I might take that comment the wrong way."

The painfully thin man forced a smile to his lips, then as though thinking of something, the smile became a smirk. "What's up with that nephew of yours?"

"What'd ya mean?"

"Well, I haven't seen Kubota in a couple of weeks. Matter of fact the reason I had enough money to play in your game is because he hasn't been in lately to raise a big game. I figured he was "working" again." There was not quite enough emphasis on the word for it to be an insult, but the intention was there.

Kasai just grunted. "He's an adult now, not my problem any more. Are you in the next game or are you out?"

Three hours later, Kasai left the gaming parlour and started walking north. As he had told the gambler, he didn't keep in touch with Kubota on a regular basis and he hadn't been worried that he hadn't seen him in several weeks. But he was surprised the man hadn't been in to play lately. Kasai knew that a lot of Kubota's supplemental income came from playing Mahjong, the rest he didn't want to know about. It wasn't like he could cast stones, he 'supplemented' his detective pay with his own varieties of additional incomes.

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"Knock, knock, knock." Tokito jerked and looked at the door in surprise. He hadn't ordered any food. He looked at Kubota nervously, but Kubota wasn't reacting at all. The knocks sounded again. Finally Kubota spoke. "If you ordered more food, you'd better get it. My wallet's on the table like usual." Tokito got up to go to the door. Yeah, he knew the damn wallet was on the damn table. It wouldn't do any good, there was barely enough in there to buy them some soft drinks now, let alone a meal.

Just as he got to the door he heard Kasai's voice. "Makota? Its Kasai. Come on and let me in." Relaxed, Tokito eagerly reached for the doorknob and swung the door open just as he hear an abortive "No!" from Kubota. Already in the process of opening the door, Tokito really wasn't able to close it in response to Kubota's exclamation. He did, however; stop with it half open.

"Toki-boy! What's wrong, why won't you let me in? Has something happened to Makota?" Kasai stared at Tokitoto. The boy looked positive haunted.

"Nothing's wrong, Kasai." Kubota suddenly spoke up from within the apartment and Tokito automatically opened the door a bit further giving Kasai a look within. "I've been sick lately and haven't been able to get out and about. I'd just as soon you didn't come in though. I don't want to expose you to whatever it is that I've had."

Kasai obediently did not step through the front door. If he wasn't wanted then he wasn't going to intrude, unless a good reason to do so presented itself. But despite Makota's speaking up, Tokito's face wasn't looking any happier. The kid stood there looking like he wanted to drop to the floor and hide. And that told Kasai that more was going on than Makota wanted to admit. He appraised what he could see of the apartment with a cop's eye for detail. It looked pretty much the same as usual – although neater than he expected. He didn't see any discard cola or beer cans laying around, nor any old bags of chips. He frowned suddenly, that didn't seem quite right. If Makota had been sick, where was the food to get him back into shape.

Just as Kasai realized that the silence was beginning to stretch, Makota suddenly stood up and began to walk towards the door. "Really, Kasai. Everything is just - " and at that moment Kubota's foot came down on the discarded game counsel that Tokito had left on the floor earlier that morning.

Tokito darted forward and caught Kubota before he could fall to the ground and, with recent experience behind him, was able to right him back on his feet without falling down him self. "I'm sorry, Kubo-chan. Sorry! I forgot to pick up the controller. I'm sorry!" Kubota stood very still for a moment while Tokito patted at his shoulders and chest as though trying to assure himself that all was okay.

"God damnit, Tokito!" Kubota slapped Tokito's hands away from him and then grabbed him by the shoulders and thrust him away. Tokito took several steps back trying to regain his balance and then sat down heavily on the floor. "What the FUCK is wrong with you? All I ask is that you keep the fucking ground clear enough for me to walk around without stumbling on something. Is that too much for you? Don't you have any brain cells in that fucking hole you call a brain? I ought to -"

"**Makota!"** Kasai's bellow stopped Kubota from saying the unspeakable. "What the HELL is wrong with you?"

For a moment, Kubota stood stock still, practically vibrating with the intensity of the emotions he felt. Then he almost visibly got a grip on himself and relaxed. Suddenly he stopped and looked in the direction that Kasai's voice had come from with a slight smile. With false politeness dripping from his mouth like poison he said, "Why uncle, I would have thought that even YOU could see what's going on. It seems I've gone blind." With that he wheeled and attempted to move quickly towards the bedroom. Unfortunately he ran into the couch within two steps. He caught himself with one hand on the couch when he began to fall and then felt his way around it and into the bedroom. In the sudden quiet of the apartment the click of the door being latched shut seemed as loud as a gunshot.


	6. Chapter 6 Darkness of slumber and deat

Chapter 6 – Darkness of slumber and death

"_Darkness of slumber and death, forever sinking and sinking._" Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Kasai stared at the closed door for a moment and then looked at Tokito. Crap, the kid looked like he was about to bawl his eyes out. Kasai himself had trouble believing Makota had pushed Tokito like that, it just wasn't in his normal way of acting. This situation definitely wasn't bringing out the best in these two. He sighed, and sat down. It looked like he needed to try and help out a little. "Toki-boy, relax. Let's sit down and talk for a while. How did this happen?" Tokito just sat there and looked at him. "Well, lets start off with a beer, hey?" Kasai got up to go to the refrigerator.

"No."

What do you mean?"

"We don't have any beer." Kasai looked at Tokito for a few seconds and then walked into the kitchen and opened the door to the refrigerator and then the cupboards. On the way back he glanced at the wallet laying on the table.

"Come on, Toki-boy. We're going to go get some beer."

Tokito glanced towards the closed bedroom door. "I, I don't think I should leave."

Kasai moved over to the door out of the apartment. "I think Makota wants some time alone. Why not give it to him and help me with the shopping?"

Tokito looked again at the bedroom door, then slowly stood up and followed Kasai.

**************** WA ***********************************

It was almost an hour later before Tokito and Kasai returned, their arms bulging with bags. The aroma of meat rolls drifted on the air around them. They both set their bags on the table and then Kasai began pulling items out and handing them to Tokito who put them away. While on the way to the grocery store, Tokito had recounted how Kubota had been in a fight and that it appeared that a blow the side of his head had caused a swelling in the nerve there and that his blindness should be temporary. Kasai had pondered the story while grocery shopping and by the time they returned to the apartment he was full of worries that he felt unable to utter.

Kubota had always seemed somewhat remote and separate from those around him, but Kasai was worried. It was his experience that most people killed due to anger. True, there were cases of self -defense, but for most people it took a strong basis of anger from within to actually kill someone, whether it manifested as desperation, revenge or orders from a superior. And Kubota had proved himself able to shot to stop, injure or kill without any problem or hesitation under any circumstances. He sensed that his nephew had a darkness inside of him that he never showed, except possibly when he killed. Kasai had never actually seen his nephew kill someone and hoped he never would. But he was worried that with his background, Kubota would be unable to handle the stress of the hopefully temporary blindness. And there was a handy target for his anger hovering around him all the time.

By the time he had isolated what was worrying him, they were entering the apartment and he couldn't think of a way to bring his concerns up to Tokito. The boy had gradually recovered his equilibrium while they shopped and was almost back to his usual exuberant self. Tokito was chattering about the different meals they had picked up. Kasai had tried to buy easy to make meals that could be eaten with the fingers, wanting to find things were easy for Tokito to make and Kubota to eat. This had led to them getting several things Tokito had never eaten and he was talking about how much fun it would be to try the different foods.

Kasai picked up the sack of cooked food they had picked up on the way back to the apartment. "Here," he said gruffly putting it in Tokito's hands. "I'll get Makota, why don't you get out the plates and some drinks for us."

As Kasai trudged over to the bedroom door, he could hear Tokito in the kitchen talking – about the meatrolls, now good they smelled, how brown they were, how many to put on the plates, whether to also add the spring rolls and friend mushrooms. How it was surprising that a fungus could taste so good, how.... Not for the first time, he wondered how Makota put up with all that chatter.

It took a fair amount of effort for Kasai to get Makota out of the bedroom and over to the table to eat. His nephew obviously did not want to endure anyone's company, not even Tokito's. But after a few minutes he had him at the table with meatrolls and fried mushrooms on the plate in front of him and a cold beer in his hand. Kasai decided to follow Tokito's lead and pretty much pretended this was an ordinary evening meal spent catching up with what was going on with the two roommates. He still hadn't resolved his thoughts when he left the apartment and headed home.


	7. Chapter 7 Deep Into the Darkness

Chapter 7 – Deep into that Darkness

Deep into that **darkness** peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." Edgar Allen Poe

It was all the fault of the meat rolls. Tokito was positive that was the entire problem. If dinner hadn't been so good and he hadn't felt so pleasantly full and content; he wouldn't have tried anything after Kasai left. He always complained when Kubo-chan would grab hold of him. Grab his chin and kiss him, grab his arm and pull him in close for a hug, grab his ass and – Tokito blushed. But it had been almost a week since the last time Kubo-chan grabbed him and Tokito was feeling, well lonely. He wasn't certain about all the feelings he had, but he did know that he missed physically feeling Kubo-chan close to him. So later that night when after the news, Kubo-chan went to the bathroom, Tokito waited until he came out and then did a little grabbing of his own. He wasn't stupid enough to grab without saying anything. But nothing after that went the way he had expected.

Tokito stood about 3 feet away from the doorway and waited for Kubo-chan to come out. He felt a little edgy, it just wasn't normal for him to be the one initiating contact, but Kubo-chan had started looking a little more, well 'alive', while Kasai was here and Tokito wanted to "talk" to him before he went back to being so bored and out of it. He was off to one side of the path he was pretty sure Kubo-chan would walk from the bathroom towards the sofa. Kubota came out and began to walk past him.... "Hey Kubo-chan" Tokito said softly as he walked over and up behind Kubo-chan.

Tokito leaned forward and snaked his arms around Kubo-chan's waist. His hands found the sides of the loose shirt and pulled it up and slid under the hem so that he was touching bare stomach. He leaned forward into the wiry, muscular back in front of him and rested his head between the thin sharp shoulder blades, inhaling the sharp, musky odor that was Kubo-chan. Kubota had stopped walking as soon as Tokito's hands touched his sides. Tokito was just starting to relax into Kubota's muscular back when he felt those muscles and the ones under his hands tense into rigid wires.

"What the **hell** are you doing, Tokito?" Kubo-chan sounded like he was a snarling dog, and Tokito suddenly wished he could see his face.

"I, I just - " suddenly Tokito's ideas seemed really stupid and he couldn't help but start to tremble as he worried that he had done something wrong and was going to hurt Kubo-chan's feelings. "We, that is you," he took a deep breath; "We haven't spent any time together in bed in days." He blurted out all in a rush. "I thought maybe you - " but he wasn't able to finish that sentence before Kubota's body twisted and what felt like iron bars clamped on Tokito's arms and he was whirled around face to face with Kubo-chan.

"What? Did you and Kasai have a nice long talk while you were out buying groceries? Did he suggest that a good fucking might get my spirits up?" Tokito's mouth dropped open and all he could do was hang limply from Kubota's hands and shiver as his nerves ramped up. "Did you think I wouldn't notice all the carefully chosen finger food so that poor blind Kubota could eat his meal without spilling it all over himself? Did you have fun asking for help at the store?" His voice turned icy and he imitated Tokito's voice and accent, "Stupid Kubo-chan, my roommate. He just went blind all like that and we need food for him to eat with his hands so he doesn't spill it all down his front."

Suddenly Tokito was being shaken violently back and forth, he couldn't seem to get his balance and it felt like there was a roaring in his ears. "WELL GET THIS TOKITO, I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY, YOU UNDERSTAND? DON'T TRY AND PULL A PITY FUCK ON ME, I DON'T WANT IT." And with those words Tokito felt himself practically picked up and thrown across the room. There was a loud crash as he landed and fell backwards onto the sofa table, breaking one of the legs and falling awkwardly to the floor.

If Tokito had looked up from where he lay on the floor, he would have seen the anger drain out of Kubota's face to be replace with a look of pure fear. He made an abortive movement towards the sound of the crash and a hand partially reached out as though he wanted to go to where Tokito had fallen. But all Tokito could think was that he had done everything wrong, he had said the wrong thing, done the wrong thing and now Kubota was angry and he wouldn't want anything to do with Tokito now and he had to leave. As Tokito scrabbled up off the floor he heard a sharp intake of breath from Kubo-chan, he couldn't stand to hear Kubo-chan yell at him anymore so he rushed into words first.

As usual, his rush to get his words out resulted in him stammering in his intensity. "O – okay, Kubo-chan. I understand, its okay Kubo-chan." As he spoke, he backed towards the door. "I'll leave Kubo-chan, I won't bother you again tonight." As he finished with that sentence his hand found the doorknob and he was out the door and down the hall.

Kubota froze as soon as he heard the crash. "Stupid!" he screamed at himself. "You can't see what you're doing! What if he hit his head? What are you going to do if he's leaking his brains out all over the floor? What if in a stupid fit of anger you just killed him? Can you help him? Can you even walk over to check on him without falling all over your feet? If he's bleeding can you find where it is and stop it? Can you even find the fucking phone and dial 911?" Then he heard the noise as Tokito scrabbled to get up. Kubota drew a breath in to ask Tokito if he was alright, if he needed help, had he been hurt; when Tokito started speaking. Even as Tokito finished and before Kubota could find the words fumbling in his mouth, he heard the front door close and the sound of footsteps running down the hall.

Kubota just stood where he was for a moment. Tokito was okay, he hadn't been hurt badly, he was able to move on his own. Wait, Tokito had left. Where was he going to go? Would he come back? Kubota found himself trembling and suddenly he sat down on the floor. What? What was wrong, why were his legs so weak? He couldn't seem to get a handle on himself, it was so dark. With a sinking feeling, Kubota realized that somehow in the heat of the argument he had totally lost track of where he was, he knew he was in living room, he was facing the door out... He tried to tell himself it would be easy to stand up and move to the sofa, to find his way; but he continued to sit on the floor even though he knew it would be easy to move to the sofa.

He'd never been in darkness this absolute before. He had always lived in a busy area of the city. The neon lights flashing in the darkness penetrated even through the blinds in the windows, keeping any room from being completely dark. In the past few days there had always been some noise in the apartment, either Tokito was rattling his way through a game or the TV was on or something was happening that Kubota could focus on rather than the complete darkness that surround him. The darkness that each and every day made more and more likely was permanent.

Without realizing what he was doing, Kubota wrapped his arms around his ankles and laid his head on his knees, huddling into as small a ball as possible. It was so dark. And quiet. Tokito must have turned the TV off before approaching him. He felt the silence, the darkness, the loneliness of the apartment closing in on him. What was he doing? What was he going to do? What was going to happen in the future? Dying on the streets, that was one thing. He had accepted that end to his life. But, helpless? Dependent on others to help him survive the day? If he couldn't do jobs for Kou, where was the money going to come from to live on? What about playing Mahjong? It wasn't just the tiles he looked at to tell him how to place his money, it was also the little tells that each player had that told him what they had in their hand, if the outlook for a winning hand was good or bad. Without his eyes he was useless.

As the thoughts chased round and round in Kubota's head, he felt his body becoming heavy with fatigue. He fought desperately not to fall asleep. He hated falling asleep because every time he awoke, he was startled again to find himself in darkness. There was always that instant of thinking he had been captured and locked up somewhere with no light before he realized it was just the fact he couldn't see. "Just the fact he couldn't see." The thought made his stomach feel even more like a pit and he was shaken for a moment as a wave of nausea went through him. What was he going to do? He couldn't live like this? What if Sanada, Sekiya or even anyone from either the Izumokai or Yokohama groups who knew who he was found out? They would kill him yes, but they would also kill Tokito. He couldn't let that happen. He shivered slightly and his thoughts continued to chase round and round in his head.

Would Tokito ever come back?


	8. Chapter 8 sorry, problems have arived

Sorry everyone, I didn't write for a while and now – well I had a small stroke. The ONLY thing effected is my verbal skills. Bad enough my reading isn't as good as it was, but trying to write is much harder than normal. I will give you the bare outline(s) of the story so that you know what happens. I will probably eventually finish it up but I don't know how long it will take.

Tokito hadn't decided which way he was going yet. He was upset after leaving – frightened and upset. The only person he think of talking to is Kou, but he won't really talk to him. He will show up at the store and just stand around without talking. Kou will first make some conversation about Makota getting better, but when Tokito doesn't really respond, he'll guess that Tokito has been upset by Makota. He will say something about Makota being upset and worried about being incontrol, that doesn't know how to act or feel, that he always been in control and able to do what he wanted but now things have changed. (I'm not saying this well). Makota is very confused. Tokito will return to Makota to find him still in the same place, stunned and afraid. There will be much lemony goodness – make up sex.

From here there are two ways to go. Kubota wakes up in the morning and says "Guess all I needed was a good fuck." and all is back to normal. Or things get worse and Tokito winds up trying to take over Kubota's job because they need the money. Tokito getins in over his head, Kobota uses his senses to help Tokito out, Kubota is hit and restored to sight.

I appologize for leaving you in the lurch, I really would have finished this.


End file.
